4 Challenges For The Tall Bodybuilder

[OskarF]

"4 Challenges For The Tall Bodybuilder" > This article is a must read for anyone over 6 feet.

Some of you may already know these things, while some of you don't.

Either way, I know from the overwhelming response I got the past few days that many tall guys out there didn't know these 4 things.

Read the full article here: http://skinnyfattransformation.com/4...l-bodybuilder/

And here's a copy paste of the full article straight from my website:

Every day of the week I have guys ask me for a workout program.

They want to know the best training routine out there for their goals.

The truth is that there is not one training routine that is best for everyone.

There are many factors affecting the best training routine for you, and one of these is height.

I�m a tall 6�2″ guy myself with very long arms and legs and for years I compared myself to my shorter friends who always seemed to progress faster than me.

They started at more pull ups than me and added reps much faster.

They started with a higher squat than me and progressed to +220lbs. in a matter of 3-5 months while it took me almost a year.

And most importantly, they seemed to fill out their frames much faster.

If you�re over 6 feet tall with long arms and legs you probably know what I�m talking about.

You�ve been through this yourself and you wonder why this is the case?

This article will explain why�

Let�s get started:

1) Tall Men Have To Push and Pull The Weights Through A Longer Range-of-Motion

Imagine the bench press, barbell row and squat.

In all 3 exercises the tall guy has to go through a longer range-of-motion because of his long limbs.

The same goes for pretty much any other exercises out there.

The only exception is the deadlift where tall guys often have an advantage because of their long arms. Long arms combined with a short torso shorten the distance of a deadlift.

So what does this mean for us tall guys?

It means that we do more work on each rep compared to the shorter guy since we lift it through a longer range-of-motion.

And that�s why you rarely see guys who are over 6 ft with long arms do bench presses with over 300lbs. while you see a good amount of shorter guys do it.

A tall guy doing bench presses with 240lbs. may be doing the same amount of work as the shorter guy doing 300lbs. because of his longer arms.

Solution to challenge:

Stop comparing yourself with shorter guys who can lift more weight than you.

Accept that you�re tall with long arms and legs, and that you do more work on each rep.

If you want to boost your ego on a lift, get good at deadlifts since that might be the only lift where you have a great advantage.

Also, if you�re into strength training, consider using very low reps (1-3 reps per set), and do a lot of sets with 1-2 minute rest between sets.

I saw amazing strength gains doing 10 sets of 2-3 reps per set and resting 1 minute between sets on the shoulder press.

I gained something crazy like 25 pounds in a month on the press after years of being stuck on the same weight.

I believe that the lower reps work well for tall guys who wanna add strength because we already do more work on each rep, so we don�t need 5 reps to get a good set in.

2) Tall Guys Have A Harder Time With Calisthenics

Calisthenic exercises such as push ups, pull ups, muscle ups and levers are no different than weight exercises.

Just like weight exercises, they�re also more difficult for tall guys.

Consider the following examples:

Push up and handstand push up: The tall guy has to push a longer distance.
Pull up: The tall guy has to pull a longer distance.
Muscle up: The tall guy has to both pull and push a longer distance.
Front lever: The tall guy is usually heavier because of a bigger bone structure and has a harder time getting his body centered to maintain balance.
To give you an extreme example, consider insects. Pound-for-pound they�re stronger than pretty much anything and can lift several times their own bodyweight, but the reasoning is their size.

The smaller you are, the stronger you can get pound-for-pound.

If you still don�t believe me, take a look at all world class gymnasts. None of them are over 6 ft. tall. They are all around 5�5″-5�7″, because gymnastics are based on relative strength and not absolute strength.

A gymnast might not be able to deadlift as much as the 6�5″ and 300 pound gorilla strength athlete, but he can do relative strength feats such as the iron cross.

Solution to challenge:

Take it easy with the calisthenics and start with a simple workout.

If needed, train at home and start doing push ups from your knees and negative pull ups to build up your first rep.

It�s all about baby steps and eventually you will get there.

I started at 0 pull ups and 0 push ups and it took me SIX months to get my first pull up.

Now, 5 years later I do sets of 15 pull ups for warm up.

If I can get to this level in calisthenics with my skinny-fat and lanky genetics, I believe you can too.

3) Tall Guys Should Consider Alternative Exercises

My body never liked squats and deadlifts.

Despite devoting a year of my life to master the basic barbell lifts, I still struggled hitting the right muscles with the lifts.

When I did squats I felt a lot of the weight on my lower back, because I had to bend far forward to compensate for my long femurs.

Also, I would often get joint pain from bench presses and deadlifts and I didn�t feel like I worked my muscles.

Then one day I decided to remove these exercises from my workout and only use exercises that I�m comfortable with.

Since then, the following things have improved:

- I have a more balanced and aesthetic physique.
- I have more muscle mass, especially in the shoulders, upper chest and arms.
- I very rarely feel any kind of pain during or after my workouts. I�ve been training for +5 years now and I have zero injuries, joint pain or anything like that. I believe that�s largely because I don�t lift heavy.
- I look forward to every training session because I don�t have to do exercises that don�t work for my body.

Tips for replacing exercises:

Here are the exercises that I replaced and why:

- Squats replaced by leg presses, leg curls and leg extensions > I feel the muscles working now and have 0 discomfort in my lower back, hips and knees.
- Bench presses replaced by cable flyes and pec deck flyes > I feel the chest working now and have 0 discomfort in my shoulders, lower back and wrists.
- Deadlifts replaced by pull ups, rows and hyper extensions > I feel the different parts of my back working now without feeling any back pain and overdeveloping my traps.

Besides replacing these exercises, I have added a lot of isolation work for my shoulders, arms and abs.

4) Tall Guys Have a Harder Time With Filling Out Their Frame

Most of the �big tall guys� you see are just big-framed guys with a lot of chub and thereby they look big in clothes.

However, seeing a real lean +6�2″ guy with lean and muscular arms and a good shoulder to waist ratio is a rarity.

The reason to why it�s so rare to see a tall guy who�s lean and muscular at the same time is that it requires many years of correct training and eating.

When you have a tall frame, it takes a longer time to fill out and look impressive.

Just imagine a 15 pound muscle gain on a 5�7″ 125 lbs. guy. For him, that gain will be very visible.

On a tall guy who�s 6�5″ and 220lbs., a 15 pound muscle gain won�t be very noticeable.

Solution to challenge:

Most tall guys will give up right before they reap the rewards. I know, because I was close to doing that.

In 2012 I had trained for 2 years and 2 months and I still looked the same, however, in the next 1 year I made more progress than I had made in the previous 2:

1 huge year progress

I progressed so fast because I had already built a bit of muscle mass in the November 2012 picture. In that �starved� picture, I was training my ass off 4-6 days a week doing cheerleading partner stunts and basic bodyweight training.

I dieted all the way down to 175 pounds and was doing shoulder presses with my partner who weighed around 110 pounds.

And here�s the thing� Once you pass a certain point in your muscular development, any additional size you gain becomes VERY visible.

In my case, the first inches I gained on my shoulders and arms didn�t make me look any different, but now-a-days I see a difference in my arms when I gain just 1/10 inch on them.

The reasoning is that the first many pounds of muscle you gain just make you go from �lanky� to �average�.

Once you have an average build, any additional size makes you stand out and that�s what happened to me from November 2012 to April 2013.

Summing It Up//TLDR:

I won�t lie, being tall has more advantages than disadvantages, but when it comes to training, being tall and lanky is a big disadvantage.

Tall guys will most often be weaker than shorter guys pound-for-pound and take a longer time to progress in strength and muscle gains.

However, the few os us who can stick it out and stay consistent for years will build an impressive physique that stands out.

Being a tall guy with a great shoulder to waist ratio is like being a short woman with big breasts. It get�s you noticed.

I hope you found this useful.

- Oskar

[DrunkBoris]

funny how im 5'9 but my 6'3 friend adds weight to his squat bench and ohp far faster than i do, even though you claim that your height makes you weak...
stop making excuses, just work hard dont point fingers and say you arent as strong as possible because of these or those reasons, just ****ing get a grip and do better

[Aahl]

People with longer limbs also have longer muscles so leverage wouldn't matter that much Amarite ?

[OskarF]

funny how im 5'9 but my 6'3 friend adds weight to his squat bench and ohp far faster than i do, even though you claim that your height makes you weak...
stop making excuses, just work hard dont point fingers and say you arent as strong as possible because of these or those reasons, just ****ing get a grip and do better

So because one guy adds weight faster than you it means my entire point is invalid? Take a look at most tall guys and tell me they perform as well as shorter lifters? Why do you think that the top benchers and squatters in the world are usually on the shorter side?

And where am I making excuses? I'm just pointing out that it might take longer for taller guys to fill out and gain strength compared to shorter guys *IN MOST CASES, THERE ARE ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS*, but once they do fill out it looks very impressive.

And as for hard work, take a look at my transformation thread before you open your mouth.

[C4Brah]

Nice article. I'm 6'6" myself so I can relate to this although I've never had trouble filling out (265 15% atm). Your gonna get a lot of **** here for saying squats are overrated but it's true for taller people. The tension will not be almost all on the legs like it is for shorter people. Out bad mechanics force other muscle to compensate. Although there are always exceptions.

[ACEthetics]

6'4" aesthetic as **** reporting for duty

[OskarF]

Nice article. I'm 6'6" myself so I can relate to this although I've never had trouble filling out (265 15% atm). Your gonna get a lot of **** here for saying squats are overrated but it's true for taller people. The tension will not be almost all on the legs like it is for shorter people. Out bad mechanics force other muscle to compensate. Although there are always exceptions.

Thank you.

"Your gonna get a lot of **** here for saying squats are overrated but it's true for taller people. The tension will not be almost all on the legs like it is for shorter people. Out bad mechanics force other muscle to compensate. Although there are always exceptions."

Exactly, couldn't have said this better myself.

[Liftology]

In?

[amenccm]

People with longer limbs also have longer muscles so leverage wouldn't matter that much Amarite ?

That's what I've read too. Tall people need to do more work, but their larger muscles allow them to do more work. Not many no. 1 powerlifters are manlets. They may be for their weight class, but the guy with the highest number isn't.

The only people I see bitching about this kind of stuff are the ones who are weak. Manlets complaining that their muscles have a smaller volume, or manmores who complain about RoM. But those people would be complaining anyway.

[HobgoblinJim]

Ever think you struggled to put on muscle because you were a cheerleader?

Op is a *******

[LooseAzzHole]

The op just sounds like a low test pussy

I'm 6'3" and bench a lot more than my short friends. Must be my high test levels

[ManletFury26]

Pretty sure you can't look juiced swole while a tall brah without teck. That said, stop using excuses and lift some damn weight. who gives a fcuk if us manlets put on more size and do bodyweight exercises better.

[Ace Corona]

Good article, repped you OP

[Nastradoomus]

Good thread for tall brah brahs.

[DLTBB]

6'4" aesthetic as **** reporting for duty

cheeky

[Zerafian]

oh look more excuses only tall miscers complain about...training 11 years and Iv never heard a tall guy b*tch and moan in real life about lifting being tough. Bunch of cry babies on the internet.

Man the fuk up and stop finding reasons lifting is tough boo hoo

Ill join in on equal complaining...Im 5'10 so I can get to bulky quick

[JuggernautGeoff]

Anyone who says that tall people can't squat is a ****ing pussy lying sack of ****.

If your legs are short relative to your torso it helps. If your legs are long relative to your torso it is a disadvantage. Height Is irrelevant.

Come the **** at me

[JRJester]

Solution number 5: Stop making excuses

[trueshredder]

strong excuses
There are tall guys in my gym who can't squat for sht. They can't even go deep on squat, all the time they do is 1/4 squat. As for me, when I first started lifting, all my weights exploded. I was benching 225 within 10 months of lifting and was doing 225 deep squat for multiple reps. There are freaks and weaks everywhere, some are naturally strong and some are just weak. Height doesn't really matter. The only difference between short person and tall person is their limbs lengths. I never had trouble squatting and benching. I was naturally able to squat deep and gain bench strength easily. Bunch of wussies with weak genetics making excuses. I have been lifting for few years and already bigger than some of my tall peers who have been lifting few years before me. When I was in high school, I was easily able to push ups up to 80, it never occurred to me that it's hard for tall guys to push ups, not once in my mind I thought about that excuse. Once I came into bodybuilding world, I hear bunch of weak kunts making excuses due to their weak ass genetics and not work ethic.
It's all about genetics, work ethic and using brain and techniques.

[OskarF]

oh look more excuses only tall miscers complain about...training 11 years and Iv never heard a tall guy b*tch and moan in real life about lifting being tough. Bunch of cry babies on the internet.

Man the fuk up and stop finding reasons lifting is tough boo hoo

Ill join in on equal complaining...Im 5'10 so I can get to bulky quick

Perhaps you should take a minute to read before you comment and same goes for JuggernautGeoff.

I never stated that tall people can't squat. I just said that for some people, especially those of us with disproportionally long femurs, leg presses, leg extensions and leg curls may work better. What can it hurt to try a new approach if your current isn't working? I squatted for years and while I could squat ass to grass with WL shoes on, I get a much better leg workout with machines.

And as for giving tall people excuses, that was never the point. The point of the article was to say that while it GENERALLY takes longer for a tall guy to fill out, it looks very impressive in the end so there's both an upside and a downside to being tall.

Finally, for those of you that believe that your build doesn't matter in terms of how fast your can progress in calisthenics or on pressing exercises such as the bench press, open your eyes and look at some of the best benchers in the world and some of the best gymnasts and calisthenics athletes. Height does matter.

[TypeNirvash]

In on manlet master race thread?

[FAPnWhey2Much]

6'4" aesthetic as **** reporting for duty

When will it be my turn for aesthetics

[KRANE]

Anyone who says that tall people can't squat is a ****ing pussy lying sack of ****.

If your legs are short relative to your torso it helps. If your legs are long relative to your torso it is a disadvantage. Height Is irrelevant.

Come the **** at me

What?

funny how im 5'9 but my 6'3 friend adds weight to his squat bench and ohp far faster than i do, even though you claim that your height makes you weak...
stop making excuses, just work hard dont point fingers and say you arent as strong as possible because of these or those reasons, just ****ing get a grip and do better

Boiii.

People with longer limbs also have longer muscles so leverage wouldn't matter that much Amarite ?

No.

Anyone who says that tall people can't squat is a ****ing pussy lying sack of ****.

If your legs are short relative to your torso it helps. If your legs are long relative to your torso it is a disadvantage. Height Is irrelevant.

Come the **** at me

What?

I hope you found this useful.

- Oskar

Well, sorta. I've said all of the above long before this article.

[FAPnWhey2Much]

In on manlet master race thread?

Lol, I've said in other threads that the most insanely strong people I've ever met are always between 5'6"-5'9". Long limbs hurts me on all the push exercises but I feel like it gives me an advantage on all the pull movements.

[Lpenny]

Neat!

[J1992]

Can confirm I am 6'1.5 lifter with great shoulder to waist ratio.

[OskarF]

strong excuses
There are tall guys in my gym who can't squat for sht. They can't even go deep on squat, all the time they do is 1/4 squat. As for me, when I first started lifting, all my weights exploded. I was benching 225 within 10 months of lifting and was doing 225 deep squat for multiple reps. There are freaks and weaks everywhere, some are naturally strong and some are just weak. Height doesn't really matter. The only difference between short person and tall person is their limbs lengths. I never had trouble squatting and benching. I was naturally able to squat deep and gain bench strength easily. Bunch of wussies with weak genetics making excuses. I have been lifting for few years and already bigger than some of my tall peers who have been lifting few years before me. When I was in high school, I was easily able to push ups up to 80, it never occurred to me that it's hard for tall guys to push ups, not once in my mind I thought about that excuse. Once I came into bodybuilding world, I hear bunch of weak kunts making excuses due to their weak ass genetics and not work ethic.
It's all about genetics, work ethic and using brain and techniques.

Congrats on your progress, 225 lbs squat and bench is very impressive..

About the article: I'm aware that a lot of tall guys will make excuses for not being where they want to be and I agree that it's wrong to put limitations on yourself unless you have some severe handicap or sickness.

I never tried to say that tall people can't transform their body.

I just wanted to give fellow tall lifters some perspective on:

- Why they may be progressing slower on certain lifts and exercises.
- Why it takes longer to fill out their frames.
- How to make tweaks to your training to reap greater rewards from it.

If you disagree with specifics such as squats vs. leg presses then so be it, but don't tell me that height doesn't matter. Thinking that height doesn't matter is naive.

[mCheech]

Feels.

Only thing I want to contribute is don't bother low bar back squatting if you have a short torso and long legs. Do front squats instead. Save your back and build your legs. I bought into the "you have to squat" stigma when I first started and I am paying the price now at 31.

[winstonsmith1]

I used to be a 6'1 skeleton, I still am but I used to be too.

The struggle is real.

[swole-striation]

good read, thanks